For Sammy Yatim’s father, ‘horrible nightmare’ continues

Bill Yatim’s life was shattered the night his teenage son was shot by police. A year later, he tells the Star he is finally ready to speak out about the circumstances of Sammy’s death, and his hopes for change in the way police deal with people in crisis.

Nabil (Bill) Yatim was returning from a business trip to the U.S. the night his son, Sammy, was killed in July 2013. He got the call from his daughter, Sarah, saying, "They killed him, they killed him, he’s dead."

Bill spoke on the phone with the Special Investigations Unit officer who had come to the home to tell the family that Sammy had been killed and somebody needed to identify the body. He said he asked the officer to wait so that Sarah didn’t have to do it without him, but was told there could be no delay. (SIU spokeswoman Jasbir Brar would not comment on the specifics of the case, saying it was before the courts.)

Still holding out hope that the police were mistaken, Bill drove toward home. An hour and a half later, he called Sarah from the side of the highway to check in.

She had gone to identify the body.

“She was just like a zombie. She said, ‘That was him,’” said Bill. “In seconds your life is upside down. All your hopes, dreams are shattered.”

The days following the incident passed in a blur. Bill can’t remember when some started and ended. He describes the past year as a “horrible nightmare.”

Nine bullets were fired at Sammy Yatim on an empty streetcar around midnight on July 27, 2013, by Toronto police Const. James Forcillo. Eight hit the teen. After the shooting stopped, another officer deployed a Taser into his body.

Only Forcillo has been charged — with second-degree murder, and unexpectedly on Wednesday, also with the attempted murder of Sammy.

Bill, a man with soft mannerisms and careful speech, kept out of the public eye as outrage grew over the death of his son.

Thousands took to the streets in cascading protests led in part by Sammy’s little sister, Sarah. Police Chief Bill Blair launched a review that eventually resulted in 84 recommendations from former Supreme Court judge Frank Iacobucci. The provincial ombudsman launched a review — still underway — of use-of-force guidelines. Sammy’s mother and sister launched an $8-million civil lawsuit.

All the while, the home Bill once shared with Sammy near Sheppard Ave. and Hwy. 404 became a minefield of memories.

“I had to leave the area (where) we were living. I couldn’t take it anymore,” said Bill. “Even packing stuff of Sammy’s — though practically everything was donated to charity. Coming against his little ball. The triggers are always constant.”

Bill spoke to the Star this week, following the first anniversary of his son’s killing, in the hopes of propelling the movement for change in the way police deal with people in crisis.

“I think maybe it’s the time now. I can’t hide anymore. I have to say something,” said Bill during an interview at his lawyer’s office in Brampton.

He described Sammy’s birth in 1994 as one of the happiest days of his life. He and his then wife, Sahar Bahadi, raised Sammy in their Christian household in Aleppo, Syria, where Sammy attended a prestigious private school.

In his youth, Sammy took pride in being part of the Scouts of Syria, a branch of the World Organization of the Scout Movement.

“It was surprising sometimes for him to come up and fix a button. It’s like, where did you learn that?” said Bill fondly.

Sammy became a loyal companion to his sister, two years younger than he. Their parents separated and eventually divorced, but Bill remained close with his children and visited Syria frequently.

In 2008, Bill brought Sammy to Canada, where he was living, to visit and see if he would like to move here. They took in the sights of Toronto, visited a lion cub at the Bowmanville Zoo and just spent time together.

“On the light side, one time we were at a park and he was just chasing after squirrels, and he came back to me and said, ‘Dad, I think there’s something wrong here — I’m the only one who’s chasing after squirrels,’” said Bill, smiling.

Sammy decided to come to Canada and entered Grade 10 at Brebeuf College School, a Catholic boys’ school near Bayview and Steeles Aves. Bill took time off from his job as a retail management consultant when Sammy arrived. The teen had ambitions to study hospital management.

Bill last saw his son alive on June 13, 2013, though he’s reluctant to go into detail about what transpired. Sammy moved out that month, taking a room in a shared apartment.

The Star has reported that Sammy left home after disagreements with his father over smoking marijuana and not having a steady job. Bill said they didn’t fight about drugs, but the two clashed over Sammy not filing his application paperwork with George Brown College on time.

Sammy periodically stayed elsewhere.

“He was in and out, actually. When his personal effects come back (from the investigators), there will be house keys with them,” said Bill. “I think he stayed (at his rented apartment) for a while. All that time was maybe four weeks. When I was in the States, he was staying at the house.”

He said that the pair had resolved their conflict. On the day of his death, Bill said Sammy was having dinner with friends of Bill’s.

Later that evening, Sammy spent time with a close friend at Fairview Mall before he boarded the subway around 10:30 p.m.

People have viewed the YouTube video of what happened around midnight that night more than half a million times, but Bill could watch it only once.

Witnesses have told the Star that Sammy was behaving normally until the Dundas streetcar approached Bellwoods Ave., when he stood up with a small knife in one hand, exposing his penis.

His family has said he showed no signs of mental illness in his youth or teenage years.

“I think Sammy was under the influence of some substance. No doubt about that,” said Bill, who added he had no knowledge of the teen doing drugs previously. “There was something mentioned in the media of him exposing himself. Sammy is the shyest member of our family. He’s the only one who locks the bathroom door when he walks into the bathroom.”

Bill praised Iacobucci’s recently released report, but for him, action will make the difference in police reform.

“There have been reports and recommendations for de-escalation of violence before. I think time will tell us if the management of the police … follow up or don’t follow up,” said Bill. “I believe deeds not words. We’ll see if we should believe or not.”

He said it was apparent that Sammy was in crisis.

“I think he needed somebody to wrap him up in a blanket and take him to a hospital — that’s what he needed that night. But he got nine bullets. Those burly cops, any one of them could have just carried him under one arm, wrap him up in a blanket, take him to the hospital. That’s all.”